Who we are, what we do

Who We Represent

The Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union represents approximately 32,000 working Manitobans. MGEU members live and work throughout Manitoba and in a wide variety of workplaces ― a large proportion of the MGEU's membership are employed directly by the Province of Manitoba (referred to as Civil Service members), while others work in crown corporations, universities and colleges,
health care facilities, social service agencies, and arts and cultural organizations.

In other words, the MGEU represents members who are as diverse as the services Manitobans enjoy every day.

What We Do

MGEU “activists” elected from the membership work closely with professional MGEU staff to:

MGEU President and Officers

Each Local elects a delegate or delegates (depending on the size of the Local) to the Convention where they set strategic priorities, develop policy, and elect the union leadership.

Throughout the year, the elected MGEU President works alongside MGEU staff to carry out day-to-day union business. Each month, an elected Board of Directors, including the president and four vice-presidents, meets to report to each other and oversee ongoing union activities.

Our Structure

LOCALS

All MGEU members belong to a Local. For the vast majority of members, their Local is simply determined by where they work. For example, all those who work for the Winnipeg Art Gallery are organized under the Winnipeg Art Gallery Local 150.

Every two years, at a Local meeting, members elect a chief steward and president to act on their behalf. The chief steward is responsible for responding to concerns in the workplace, while the president acts as meeting chair and bargaining representative.

Depending on the number of members in a Local, a vice-president and members-at-large can also be elected to provide greater representation.

AREAS

Depending on its location within the province, each Local also belongs to an Area Council.

These geographically-divided Areas (The Pas and surrounding region is Area 1; Dauphin and surrounding region is Area 2; Brandon and surrounding region is Area 3; Portage la Prairie and surrounding region isArea 4; Selkirk and surrounding region as well as Steinbach and surrounding region areArea 5; Winnipeg is Areas 6 and 7; and Thompson and surrounding region is Area 8) allow members to come together and discuss regional concerns.

COMPONENTS

Some Locals share specific interests ― a common employer, collective agreement, or particular employment-related concerns. These Locals are often organized a little differently, within strategic groupings known as Components.